


Hold Me

by esttian



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Rain, Stephen being a good boyfriend, Stephen being a supportive friend, Stephen helps, Tony Feels, Tony Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Nightmares, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-12-25 11:57:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18260807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/esttian/pseuds/esttian
Summary: They met and became friends or maybe more, and so, they went through everything together. A genius and a doctor, this is their past and their present.





	Hold Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NicoDiAngeloLover7](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NicoDiAngeloLover7/gifts).



> My gift for @calcreg-shipper at tumblr for the Ironstrange Gift Exchange organized by IronstrangeHaven Discord
> 
> Prompts:Tony and Stephen knew each other before Infinity War; Tony and Stephen are there for each other (nightmares included)

Cold rain showered him, but he didn’t care, his mood was as gloomy and dark as the weather or worse. His black tuxedo was soaked from collar to socks and his dark brown hair once combed back in a pristine way, was now loopy and wet sticking to his forehead. Dark chocolate eyes puffy and red stared at the dry pavement between his feet; he had been sitting on the street for quite some time now, to the point that his body was shielding this patch of ground, the only thing landing on the ground were his tears but he had stopped- no, ran out of them a while ago. Legs flexed to his torso so they can support his weak arms on his knees and hunched over in them, to hide his face from the world in his little body cocoon.

“Anthony,” a voice broke through his hazy mind as he felt the loss of the feeling of heavy rain in his back.

Looking up slowly, to deep blue-green eyes and black jet hair, “Strange,” a whisper so cracked and hoarse, perhaps from shouting so much. Tony stares at Stephen, he is also dressed in a dark suit, holding a black umbrella over them and sporting a blank expression. He can breathe, Tony knew Stephen was an expert in poker faces, but he appreciates the lack of pity, he didn’t want any. Tony inhales the subtle smoky cologne from Stephen, slightly washed away by the humid air.

“You look like a wet cat and smell like one,” The good doctor says, and Tony can’t help but snort at that, leave it to Dr. Stephen Strange to break the ice.

“I look ravishing,” Tony fights back but it’s weak and even himself can tell.

Stephen doesn’t argue back, instead he crouches to be face to face with Tony, a small smile on his lips. Tony can count his lashes at this distance, they are long and flattering, framing those pale greys that he always has a battle pinpointing the color. They shift like a multichromatic palette, shifting from gray to blue to green. Breathtaking is a good way to describe them.

“Let me take you home,” and Tony swear his breath got caught on his throat. Even in his low state, his mind goes to places it shouldn’t, Stephen obviously is referring to driving him to his Malibu house and dropping him there. Not the other _-take someone home-_ way.

But he can’t help but tease him about it.

“Why, doc? I didn’t know you were interested. If I knew I would’ve- “

“I’m not” Stephen cuts him off, no room for argument or doubts, his cold eyes serious and direct to his heart. It hurts Tony the way he just brushes the idea off as if it’s unthinkable, his brown eyes drop to his knees, losing all strength to look at Stephen. But, like all the other times, Stephen continues, “I want to take you out of this rain and get you into a bath, if you would allow me” and he manages to bury himself back into Tony’s heart.

Tony huffs and shakes his head, “A bath won’t be enough to get me out of this cold…”

“Allow me to try, Anthony…” Stephen’s voice is deep and soft, Tony wonders if he is still talking about the rain.

His gaze shifts back to Stephen’s eyes, still a melody of blues and greens. The umbrella is covering them from the rain but it’s not wide enough to shield them completely, Stephen’s jacket is wet from the back-side edges and the ends of his pants have the rim soaked. His sharp features are enhanced by the play of shadows and lights behind him from the lamp light and car rushing by.

Tony’s body shivers, he tries to hide it, but Stephen’s piercing gaze is so focused on him that he doesn’t miss it. A small smile lifts Stephen’s lips and Tony glares mumbling a reluctant “Fine…” and unfolding his arms from his knees. Stephen takes his hand when he sees Tony struggling to stand up, still holding the umbrella, he hoists them both to their feet.

The smaller man stumbles, his legs had lost circulation from being in that position for so long and so, he lands face first in a warm soft cotton chest. Tony is surprised when Stephen warps an arm around his waist, not caring about getting wet at all, and instead of pushing him away, he holds him closer.

Tony could cry again if he had tears. This embrace is enough to make him feel safe, to make him realize the freezing December night and cruel unforgiving low temperatures he decided to run into, in the middle of the night, with nothing more than a suit. Tony wants to scream because it’s scalding, this heat, sipping into his skin and digging itself into his bone from Stephen’s body, it’s making him shiver all over again but in the right way. His knees buckle, they are weak and sore. Tony shuts his eyes tightly, to fights back the ache behind his eyes and waiting for the fall when his legs give away.

“I’m not letting you go,” Stephen sighs into his damp hair and Tony grips his jacket in fists, struggling to calm the butterflies in his stomach that are fighting so hard to escape. He shivers once more and the arm around him scoops him closer, supporting most of his weight. Tony wants to ask Stephen to tighten his embrace to the point where bones are breaking, to the point where the cold and the world disappears from his mind and just Stephen is left. But he refrains. They are friends, maybe more, but nothing to the point to call themselves lovers out loud.

Friends since they met back in a conference; Tony found the raising brilliant doctor to be intriguing and a lot of fun to tease, and Stephen would never admit it, but he enjoyed the bickering and his genius mind. After Afghanistan, Stephen came back into his life, being his personal doctor in a sort of uncalled but welcome way. Stephen had been the one that noticed the palladium poisoning, the one that managed to give him a little more time to find a solution and the person that took over Pepper’s job as his unofficial personal assistant when she became CEO. It had been quite a view to see Pepper handing the torch, even though Tony joked how he wasn’t THAT bad to handle. He got some unamused glares from both.

Stephen is the one by his side after the alien attack from a few days ago, saying his trip to outer space through a worm hole and his free fall could have done serious damage on his brain. Stephen is the one that is holding him right now after one of his anxiety attacks that sent him spiraling in an uncontrollable and hyperventilating mess. If he remembers correctly, they had been at a party full of big fishes, trying to show that Stark Industries is standing strong after the events on New York, what his parents would think of Ironman had been the subject in one conversation and the next moment, he was running out of the event without looking back.

Maybe it had been a bad idea to go to an event that week, the date was so close, it felt as if the grief would never go away and it was just breathing on his neck as the day grew near. The day he was left an orphan and lost his mother.

His brown eyes open slowly, a question in his mind: How did Stephen find him?

Tony tiredly lifts his face from Stephen’s chest to rest his chin on it instead, looking up at those high cheekbones, “How…” his voice is low and shaky. But Stephen is so good at reading him, at keeping up with him that there is no need for any more words. Stephen moves his eyes down and smiles, Tony wants to frame him just so he can stare at that expression all the time.

“Jarvis,” Stephen answers and that explains everything.

Tony is weak but he manages a smirk, “Oh! You are now putting my A.I. against me, should I be worried?” He muses but there is no heat, just playfulness.

“Sir, my main directive is your safety,” JARVIS chimes in from the glasses in Tony’s chest pocket, loud enough for both to hear him, the closeness makes it easy, “It was to my understanding that Doctor Strange has high accessible clearance to look after you. And, quoting Miss. Potts’ words- “JARVIS takes a second to process, and Tony swears that if he could clear his throat, he would be doing it right about now,” Tony is a handful but take care of him for me. End of quotes.”

Stephen sighs, “I don’t know what bad thing I did to be punished like this,” he melodramatically leans his head back to look at the umbrella.

Tony pouts, hitting his forehead on the sternum in a reprimanding manner which gets him a deep laughter that shakes the chest he is resting on, making him shiver once more. God that laugh never gets old. “Bite me, Strange,” He grumbles, as Stephen leans back down to nuzzle into his brown hair and Tony melts. “Or that…that’s better,” Tony adds in a mumble.

They stay like that for a second, some of Stephen’s natural warmth warping around Tony and bringing him back some colors to his tanned features. The city was bustling, and cars rushed by in cacophonies of tires splashing puddles of mud and water. The rain wasn’t as harsh as before, just a light breeze and soft droplets hitting the dark umbrella above them.

Tony’s hands rest on the lean chest, he can feel his heart drumming beneath them, so alive and reassuring. Stephen is here, holding him and grounding him to the reality. There is no need for words, there never was, they fit so right and sometimes, that’s scary. But Tony wouldn’t change this for anything, he might be going through the world in a tin can, but he always comes back to Stephen, always to Stephen.

“Let’s go home,” Stephen says and Tony nods.

 _Home._ Yeah, he would like that.

 

* * *

 

Tony wakes up breathing harshly, all his senses are intensified, and his heart is going a mile per hour, he can hear the rumbling feeling of dread making him cold sweat and all the hairs in his body are upright. He can’t control his body, he can’t move, trapped in his own mind while all his existence goes haywire.

He only manages to make a strangled whimper.

The sound of the bed shifting and the sensation of a warmer body leaning over him make him aware of the other person, his eyes are closed, and they won’t open no matter how much he tries.  

“Tony,”

The concerned tone makes him shiver, and his heart is going to shut down if it doesn’t calm down, his consciousness is clouded and most likely, he is going into shock.

“Tony…Breath,”

He wants to, he wants to so badly, but he can’t. Tony can’t find the strength to control his own body.

“Tony, focus on my voice,” and he does, that deep calming voice that is pulling him, taking him softly out of his panic, “One, two, three- breath,” the voice says and Tony forces himself to let out a shaky sigh. “Again, One, two, three,” and Tony inhales, the smell of sweat with a smoky wood undertone gets him the rest of the way out of his prison.

Brown eyes open to see strands of black hair dusted with strikes of white at the sides, sharp bone structure and stunning pale green gray eyes looking at him with a frown gracing the worried expression. Tony’s lips form a small smile, “Hi,” he whispers and Stephen sighs with a smile of his own.

“Hi,” Stephen says back, and they stare at each other for a second, letting Tony’s shaken body recover. After a few seconds, Stephen caresses his tanned cheek with the back of his knuckles, old marred scars giving them a bumpy feeling. Tony tilts his head seeking the contact, “Nightmare?” Stephen asks to which Tony nods.

“Siberia,” Tony murmurs weakly, Stephen makes a noise of acknowledgement and leans over, gracing his forehead with feather kisses. Tony lets out a tiny giggle at the action, he loves when Stephen gets all cheesy on him even though the sorcerer knows Tony doesn’t need it, but still appreciates it.

Stephen travels down his face, leaving a trail of kisses until he is connecting their lips on a soft tender kiss. Tony hums in the kiss, and frown when it’s over. Stephen smiles down at him, “I will make us some tea,” his hushed tone making the offer so intimate. It was around five in the morning, an ungodly hour to be awake but Stephen knew very well it was almost impossible to go back to sleep after a nightmare that bad. Personal experience.

“No coffee?” Tony ask, pouting his lips up at Stephen. A disarming move.

Stephen knows him too well that he turns his head away and pushes himself up from the bed to avoid looking at the adorable puffing of his cheeks and his lower lip vulnerable and seductively sticking out, just asking for attention. “No coffee,” he retorts and starts walking to the bedroom door already. Tony whines from the bed and rolls over to lay on his stomach and bury his head on the pillow.

Tony grumble incoherently about Stephen being a meanie or something of that sort before falling silent when the door snaps shut. His face lifts from the pillow so he can breathe and smile dumbfoundedly at the headboard. Stephen stayed by his side all those years, even after his accident and becoming the master of a magic cult, they stuck together. And he wasn’t going anywhere. Tony knew that Stephen would come back with two cups of his herbal water, lay next to him and cuddle him, passing the first hours of the morning before work snuggling each other, dusting the last bit of the bad memories away.

Tony hugs the pillow tighter and sighs into it, his smile almost painful.

_/Hurry up and come back so you can Hold me, you dumb sexy wizard/_


End file.
